Coach Nick Saban cheers after the white team scored a touchdown during Alabama's spring game in Tuscaloosa. Saban already is focusing on trying to stop Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M.

Written by

David Jones
| FLORIDA TODAY

The BCS era concludes next January with the national championship game. Then, college football goes to a playoff in 2014.

But the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Once again, the league owns the defending national champion and a Heisman winner trying for a repeat. It all sounds too familiar to outsiders sick hearing how good the SEC is. But reality is, it doesn't look like much has changed as, once again, well over 1,000 media members will pack into an Alabama hotel for three days starting today in the annual launching of a new football season for the league. ...